France became the first country in the world to constitutionally enshrine abortion as a guaranteed right for women.
The bill was approved by an overwhelming vote of 780 to 72, during a historic joint session of the upper and lower houses of the French Parliament at the Palace of Versailles, during which almost the entire joint session was met with prolonged applause.
There were jubilant scenes of celebration across France as women’s rights activists hailed President Emmanuel Macron’s promised move after a US court ruling scrapped the right to abortion.
Abortion rights activists gathered in central Paris cheered and applauded as the results were announced on a giant screen, the Eiffel Tower glowing in the background and the message “My Body My Choice.”
President Emmanuel Macron said the move was “the pride of France” and sent a “universal message”.
Abortion rights are more widely accepted in France than in the United States and many other countries, with polls showing that around 80% of French citizens support the fact that abortion is legal.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal told MPs ahead of the vote: “We send a message to all women: your body is yours and no one can decide for you.”
Women have had a legal right to have an abortion in France since a 1974 law, which was harshly criticized by many at the time.
But after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade, which recognized a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion, activists warned that France explicitly protects the right to abortion in its basic law. pressure to become the first country to do so.
“This (abortion) right has been rolled back in the United States. So there was nothing that would allow us to think that France was exempt from this risk,” said Laura of the rights group Fondation des Femmes. Slimani said.
“As a feminist activist and as a woman, I have a lot of emotions,” Slimani said.
Today’s vote enshrined Article 34 of the French Constitution: “The conditions under which a woman is guaranteed the freedom to seek an abortion shall be determined by law.”
“France is on the front line,” said Yaël Brown-Pivet, leader of the House of Commons of French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party.
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